


Better With Three

by voodoochild



Category: Burn Notice
Genre: Kid Fic, Multi, POV Outsider, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-07
Updated: 2011-01-07
Packaged: 2017-10-14 13:18:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/149598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voodoochild/pseuds/voodoochild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karen Royce really didn't know what she was getting in for as Claire Westen's teacher. The four contacts listed for Claire are going to be the least of her problems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better With Three

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Missy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missy/gifts).



> Written for Missy, for fandom_stocking. Title thieved with affection from Doctor Who.

There are no rules for this kind of situation.

Karen Royce has been a teacher for ten years in the Miami-Dade school district, and she'd thought she'd seen everything. Kids with two fathers or two mothers. Kids living with grandparents. Foster kids bouncing around from house to house. Kids with fathers serving overseas or mothers working three jobs. Kids just out of juvie and kids from the gangs.

But that's nothing compared to Claire Westen. When Karen received her class list for the year in September, she'd known Claire might be a challenge. Erin Marinella, who taught first grade, had told virtually everyone in the school about what she called an "unconventional" situation at the Westen house, and the girl's behavior problems were all over Truman Elementary the last time she executed a perfect judo throw on Oscar Guererro, who was a fifth-grader.

So Karen waited out the first day of class, and Claire had proved to be a bright girl with no behavior issues. She'd been a little hyper, but so had the other twenty-seven second-graders in the class - first-day jitters combined with the "I don't wanna go back to school" mindset.

She usually made a short phone call to each of her students' families after the first couple days; introduce herself, give them her office hours and email address for contact purposes, and get an idea of what kind of home life her kids had. She had worked her way down the list, from Abraham, Nina to Westen, Claire, and Karen found herself stumped.

There were four phone numbers listed for Claire, and two said "Westen". Karen assumed Claire's parents were divorced - it would explain why Michael Westen's number was different from Madeline Westen's. There was a Fiona Glenanne listed, with a very similar number to Mr. Westen's. Maybe a girlfriend or second wife? And then there was Sam Axe, with a number only two digits off Mr. Westen's.

So she decided to try Madeline Westen first.

"Good evening, Mrs. Westen, my name is Karen Royce. I'm Claire's second-grade teacher over at Truman."

The woman's voice is rough - what Karen's mother would have called a "showgirl" voice and really meant "three-packs-a-day". "Oh, Ms. Royce. Is something the matter? Is Claire all right?"

"Oh, yes. I'm just giving the families of all my students a call. Your daughter's quite bright, Mrs. Westen."

"You think -" Madeline stops, then starts to laugh. "I'm sorry. Claire's my granddaughter, although yes, I'll agree with you that she is bright. You'll want to speak to my son, Michael, or one of his partners."

In retrospect, Karen wishes she'd asked Mrs. Westen for clarification before she called Michael Westen.

A high-pitched, decidedly-not-masculine voice picks up. "Hello?"

Karen goes through her spiel, and the woman - who is definitely not from this country, though also not Hispanic, like a number of her students' mothers - interrupts her. "Listen, my partners are going to want to talk to you, too. We don't delegate responsibility for Claire to one of us. We're all her parents."

"Partners? All?"

A male voice cuts in. "Fi, we've talked about this. We don't spring the three-is-better-than-two thing on unsuspecting people."

"I was breaking it gently, Sam! Claire usually does it herself, though for some reason, she obviously didn't tell Miss Royce here."

"Miss Royce, I'm Michael Westen," a new voice says, higher than the other man's, a bit younger-sounding. "I apologize for the misinformation. We went through our situation with Miss Marinella last year. We'd thought she would have told you."

"No," Karen says faintly. "She really didn't."

The first man speaks again. "It's a lot to deal with, I know, but trust me. We all love our daughter very much, and we want the best for her. Just because she doesn't have mine or Fiona's last name doesn't mean we're not her mother and father."

Karen's beginning to understand. She's also beginning to resolve to kick Erin Marinella's ass for not filling her in.

"Let me just clarify here, Ms. Glenanne, Mr. Axe, Mr. Westen. You are all Claire's parents?"

Fiona replies, cutting off Michael. "She is our daughter, biologically in mine and Michael's cases, legally as well as emotionally in Sam's. She knows the three of us are in a relationship, and she knows that it's not the type of relationship her friends' parents have."

"If there's a problem, I have power of attorney and guardianship of Claire." Sam says. "So does Madeline, Michael's mother. Any decisions made about her welfare can legally go through us, in addition to Michael and Fiona."

"That's good to know," Karen says, making a note of it in Claire's file. "But I was mainly concerned with everyday, school-related things. What does she refer to you as?"

Michael responds in the manner of someone who's clearly gotten tired of explaining the topic. "We're her parents. She'll say she has three of them, two dads and a mom. She calls Fi 'Mom', she calls Sam 'Pop', and I'm 'Dad'. If someone makes a rude comment, though, she'll get angry and probably violent. Gets it from her mother."

There's a muffled smack and a choked-sounding laugh from Sam. Fiona's not too pleased, though. "I won't have my girl being pushed around and made fun of. Claire can defend herself."

"With all the judo lessons, I'd hope so," Sam comments.

"Like you're blameless," Fiona retorts. "All the dirty tricks you and Michael teach her."

Karen stifles her own laughter, and raises her voice over them. "I'll do my best to make sure it isn't a problem. Who would be the best one of you to speak to regarding issues with curriculum?"

"I usually help her with her homework," Sam responds. "Michael works strange hours, and Fiona doesn't quite have the patience. You can contact me if there are any problems, though Claire's never had them before. She loves school."

There are a few more concerns to work out - who picks her up most days (Madeline), who handles discipline (Fiona), who she should contact first in an emergency (Michael) - but as Karen hangs up, she smiles. Claire's a lucky kid, having four people who clearly love her and make her a priority. Some kids don't even have one person.

(Upon later reflection, she probably should have inquired about Claire's tendencies to critique the boys' gun drawings with remarks that "the M16 doesn't have that kind of laser scope, and the trigger press is all wrong".)

It's an interesting year, in more ways than one.


End file.
